The Round Up

Some people are going to look at his production, with the field all spread out, and if they don’t like his arm, they’re going to say there’s inflation. Going into [his senior season], Orton had a lot of that talk about the Heisman Trophy and [being] a top pick. But a lot of questions were there. He had that good size and seemed to be where you wanted him to be mentally. But I think as a whole, people still weren’t entirely sure about his arm….

…Right now, I would say Quinn is a far better athlete than Orton, but he’s still got to show some of the same things. A lot of opinions can change.”

So, the scout uses Orton as a cautionary note, yet still wants Quinn to show the same things as the former Purdue quarterback? How befitting it is for an NFL scout to make such little sense.

As for the two offenses, there is a huge difference (one can only gather that the scout does not watch a lot of college football). For instance, Notre Dame’s offense actually empasizes a balanced attack, with a legitimate running game. Purdue’s does not. The Irish passing game also tends to be more vertical, while Purdue rarely throws the ball down field.

One last thing: Some talked of Orton as a Heisman candidate, but we never really took him too seriously here at HP. Quinn will have no such credibility problem and is the odds-on Heisman favorite.

–Speaking of Quinn, he has already narrowed his list to six agents to represent him when he graduates.

The main question: Is the ACC living up to its hype as a super conference?

For starters, I think that different people have different ideas on what makes a good conference. Some look at ranked teams or bowl wins. Others look at competitiveness and overall balance.

I’ve always tended to lean towards the latter. A conference that has fewer weeks off tends to, in my book, be better overall.

Last year, I thought that the ACC was just such a conference. Going in, I called it the top conference in the country. While there were no teams that competed for the national title, there were 11 teams (Duke excluded) that had the ability to win on any given day.

I think that is an attribute also shared by conferences like the Big Ten and Pac-10. Leagues like the Big East, SEC and Big 12, not so much. More on conference rankings soon.

–Fred Rouse and A.J. Nicholson have been charged with robbing teammate Lorenzo Booker.

Rouse confessed his involvement to authorities on May 28, according to police. Rouse was arrested and charged with three felonies: burglary of a dwelling, grand theft and unrelated possessions of a controlled substance without a prescription, which was ecstasy. Rouse has been released on bond. A warrant is out for the arrest of Nicholson, who faces felony charges of burglary of a dwelling and grand theft and criminal mischief, which is a misdemeanor.

It’s a shame that Rouse went down that road. He was a special talent with an NFL career in his future. If he gets convicted of this crime, it’ll all be gone.

As for Booker, I’m sure this is not what he had in mind when he left Ventura, Calif., for Tallahassee.

The Rebels have a chance to be a ‘hip’ team down South in the next couple years, but they have to start producing soon, or Ed Orgeron won’t be there to see all his young talent develop. One thing that is distressing is the lack of innovation on offense.

Last year, the Rebels were horrible offensively. This year, they have brought in Dan Werner from Miami to shake things up. Werner wants to build around the run and play-action passes.

Yawn.

So what he is saying is that the offense will be just another run-of-the-mill SEC unit–no vertical passing game, no spread elements, no fun ‘n gun.

I think that’s a big mistake. You know Ole Miss will be strong defensively. But it won’t have the talent on offense to challenge SEC defenses with such a conservative approach.

Orgeron should take a page on offense from his old coaching mate, Norm Chow, to spice things up. Otherwise, it may be another tough season down in Oxford.

–The Lindy’s preseason magazine is in. I have to say that the national edition is not as good as the conference one. For starters, Lindy’s could get some better writers. Its current batch scrapes the bottom of the barrel.

–Some aren’t too happy with the new NCAA regulation that allows already-graduated players to transfer to another school in their fifth year without having to sit out.

While many are saying it’s a bad rule because of how unfair it is to the programs, I don’t have a problem with anything that gives some freedom and reward to athletes who actually bother to take their studies seriously.

They are supposed to be student-athletes, not chattel. It’s sad that some reporters can’t see that.

About Heismanpundit

Chris Huston, A.K.A. ‘The Heisman Pundit‘, is a Heisman voter and the creator and publisher of Heismanpundit.com, a site dedicated to analysis of the Heisman Trophy and college football.
Dubbed “the foremost authority on the Heisman” by Sports Illustrated, HP is regularly quoted or cited during football season in newspapers across the country. He is also a regular contributor on sports talk radio and television.